Scattered Leaf Piles: Darkness & Betrayal
by Cha's Aegis
Summary: Golden opportunities can sometimes be tarnished as betrayal can come from the unlikeliest sources and in the worst possible way. Naruto learns such things can scar and can't always be ignored. Companion fic to chapters 11 & 12 of Underneath the Leaves. Fem Naruto AR.


_**A/N**__: This is an accompanying one-shot to chapters 11 & 12 of Underneath the Leaves._

_This has to be the darkest thing I've written yet as it's retelling the original Mizuki incident and involves child molestation and black market slavery. It's part of Naruto's back story that she and Iruka reveal to Kakashi in varying degrees in these two chapters._

_Warning__: Per the site rules it doesn't cross into MA turf, but it can get uncomfortable for some readers because of the topic._

* * *

Everything seemed to glow the bright sunshine. Maybe the pride and happiness swirling within the schoolyard wasn't reflecting the sun at all but it sure felt that way. With nary a cloud in the deep, blue sky it was picture postcard perfect for a graduation.

For the select, unlucky few, the day was despairing and gloomy as a winter storm because this wasn't the way things were supposed to be. They should be milling among the throng, sharing the joy.

Naruto obsessed over trying to figure out what went wrong while moodily resenting the obnoxiously cheerful scene in front of her from her favorite swing across the yard. She tried glaring hatefully at the phony ninja-wannabes who are now her former classmates only to drop her gaze morosely to the ground, wondering how in the hell she fucked up royally. _Again_.

Her brooding was shattered when a shadow fell over her and she gaped stupidly up into the gently smiling face of Mizuki-sensei.

* * *

"Of all the stupid, fucking luck!" Naruto's voice spat into the darkness.

"Mizuki-sensei must've been sniffing his dirty underwear or something!" she continued, digging her hands in her fiery hair in frustration. "I get the scroll from the Old Man like he wanted, but why the fuck do I have to learn the stupid ass Kage Bunshin of all jutsu?"

Taking a deep breath, she slowly exhaled before more calmly telling herself, "It's just a jutsu. You can do this, Naruto. Mizuki-sensei wouldn't have said to learn as many jutsu as possible from the scroll if he didn't think you could pull it off. He's being awesome by giving you this second chance to graduate this time. Keep trying."

Bolstered by her pep talk, Naruto resumed practicing the Kage Bunshin, which she had been trying to succeed at for hours. She was tired, but determined to get it before Mizuki-sensei arrived, whenever the hell that'd be. She vaguely wondered why he hadn't shown up yet. She'd been out in the woods by one of the old storage sheds for hours and thought he would've checked on her by now. She didn't dwell too long on it since she was used to no one bothering to check on her for any reason.

Taking a break an hour later, Naruto's head snapped up in surprise when a shadow fell over her, blocking out the moonlight.

"Mizuki-sensei!" she cried happily, jumping to her feet. "I was startin' to think you weren't showing up anytime soon!"

"Sorry, Naruto, something came up and I couldn't come sooner," Mizuki smiled warmly. He gestured at the large scroll strapped to her back, asking, "I see you succeeded in half your task. Were you able to learn any jutsu from the scroll?"

"Yeah, Mizuki-sensei!" Naruto declared proudly before sourly admitting, "But only one 'cause it was really hard. You wanna see it?" she asked eagerly.

She grinned expectantly while he stood there and smiled. Slowly her grin melted away in confusion because something felt off about Mizuki-sensei.

Her mind sluggishly registered the odd look in his eyes when he was on her instantly. She instinctively reacted when her back slammed against the ground and she struggled against the body pinning her down, desperately trying to tug her wrists out of the vice-like grip holding them above her head.

Terrified blue snapped up into familiar eyes coldly staring down at her.

"Your graduation test isn't quite done yet, _Naruto_," Mizuki sneered, leaning in uncomfortably close and causing her to turn her face away. She shivered when he whispered, "There's one other requirement you have to fulfill."

Naruto's blood ran cold when she heard more than felt her jacket zipper opening. Her eyes widened in horror when both her pants and underwear were tugged down, causing her to struggle in earnest. Tears leaked from her eyes as she managed to pull her wrists free to push, scratch and hit Mizuki.

Finding her voice, she repeatedly screamed, "Stop it, Mizuki-sensei! Let me go!"

She squirmed, twisted and tried wiggling out from under him, especially when she felt his hands touching places she didn't want him to. Clambering to her feet and ignoring his mocking laughter, she shrugged free of her jacket, which he clutched tightly while simultaneously trying to pull up her pants.

Freedom was fleeting as strong arms encircled her waist, jerking her hard back onto the ground as his hands resumed painfully molesting her.

"Help! Somebody hel..!" she started screaming until a rough palm slammed over her mouth and nose while another constricted around her throat.

Struggling to breathe, her hands scrabbled at his, futilely trying to loosen his grip.

"You think too much of yourself, you fucking monster!" he sneered hoarsely, leaning in close enough to kiss. "Like I'd have you that way. I'd never dream of defiling myself with filth!"

Straightening up, his face distorted into an ugly rage as he straddled her hips to relentlessly pound on her head and torso while she futilely tried deflecting the blows with her arms.

She blocked some, but couldn't block out his ugly words.

"You don't deserve to breathe the same air as me, you goddamn cunt!" he shouted. "I'm doing the entire village a favor by putting you down! All rabid animals should be destroyed!"

Naruto couldn't stop the tears. She didn't understand where all this hatred was coming from. Mizuki-sensei had always been nice to her, like Iruka-sensei. Actually, nicer at times. Not like the other sensei.

She frantically kept trying to figure it out until her world mercifully faded to black.

* * *

A light breeze whispered through the deserted clearing as a lone figure silently landed outside the perimeter, taking a few moments to carefully observe the area.

Iruka frowned in concern at the unnervingly silent scene. His eyes fell on an object abandoned on the ground near the shed. Stepping closer his eyes widened in recognition at the familiar orange jacket.

He bent down to pick it up when he sensed others rapidly approaching from behind. Turning around, he was surprised to see the Sandaime Hokage accompanied by a squad of ANBU.

"Hokage-sama!" Iruka bowed in greeting.

"I take it we arrived too late, Iruka?" the Third nodded at the jacket hanging limply from the brunet's hand before gesturing for the ANBU to check the immediate area.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Iruka solemnly replied. "Naruto did a much better job covering up her trail this time and it took longer to track her. I just arrived and only found her jacket. It appears she's been gone for at least an hour, maybe longer."

Clasping his hands behind his back, the Third solemnly nods. "That seems about right," he mused softly, confusing Iruka. Before the chuunin could reply, he gravely added, "Naruto has been abducted by Mizuki."

Not giving the flabbergasted sensei a chance to reply the Third continued, "The entire incident was too well planned for a simple prank pulled by an academy student, Iruka. Other than her jacket, you have not found any other trace of her, have you?"

"No, sir," Iruka quietly replied before asking, "But how can you say Mizuki kidnapped her? He's been out searching with the rest of us."

"Mizuki is now missing as well and there is strong evidence supporting the claim. I'm sorry to say he has turned traitor and kidnapped her."

Giving an overwhelmed Iruka a moment to process his words the Third shifted his focus to the ANBU squad. "Hound-taichou, report."

The dog-masked ANBU with wild silver hair poking out along the edges snapped to attention. "Evidence indicates there's been a struggle and one subject subdued the other. All indications support the theory both have been gone for over an hour."

The Third nodded again. Clasping his hands behind his back he paced a few steps before facing the assembled ninja. "Hound, your squad is to retrieve Naruto and the scroll. I want Mizuki brought in alive. Iruka will accompany you."

Iruka blinked in confusion before finding his voice, "Sir, you're sending me along? How can I be of any help to ANBU?"

The Third pinned him with his gaze. "Because Naruto will likely be just as traumatized, possibly more so, than the last time she was kidnapped." He paused as remembrance lights up Iruka's eyes. "She will recognize and react better to you than to the ANBU squad alone, even if they present her with the safe code. I will send another trusted ANBU squad as backup once they become available."

Turning back to Hound, the Third asked, "Have you picked up a trail?"

Hound nodded. "Hai, Hokage-sama. The perpetrator didn't bother covering his trail very well. They are heading northeast."

"Dismissed," the Third ordered, prompting the four shinobi to disappear immediately.

* * *

Hound set a hard pace against the ticking clock. Glancing over at Iruka, he was impressed by how well he kept up, but not surprised. He was familiar with the chuunin's relationship with Naruto and knew their strong bond was driving the younger man.

He was certain that bond would be unbreakable after this incident.

* * *

Her head hurt. Big time.

Naruto didn't want to open her eyes. The bright sunlight burned uncomfortably through her eyelids, heightening her misery.

Wait, sunlight?

Carefully cracking open an eye, Naruto peeked to see it was indeed daytime and she was flying through the treetops. Opening both eyes wider, she recognized the back of Mizuki's head, noting his hitai-ate was conspicuously absent. Looking over his shoulder then around the area she realized they were no longer within the boundaries of Konoha.

Judging by the tingling, numb sensation in her fingertips she realized he tied the rope binding her hands behind her back too tightly. He carried her with her legs wrapped around his waist as he raced through the trees. Needing to alleviate the numbness, Naruto wiggled her wrists to try loosening up the ropes a little, maybe even to escape.

Feeling her moving, Mizuki sneered over his shoulder, "You might as well get used to being tied up because your new owners aren't likely to let you move about on your own."

Confused, Naruto stopped struggling. "What the fuck are you talking about, Traitor-teme?"

Mizuki threw back his head and laughed, annoying her further. "You're so incredibly stupid and pathetic. It's any wonder no one has buried you before to spare the world of your idiocy." Leaping off another branch, he continued. "Sure, I could just kill you. Easy enough to do, but what's the value in that besides the satisfaction of knowing you're dead and the bragging rights? If I'm going to profit from the Forbidden Scroll then I might as well profit from _you_."

Naruto heard the smirk in the smug bastard's voice when he added, "You're going to make some sadistic pedophile very happy when you're sold as a slave on the black market."

Appalled, Naruto struggled harder, prompting him to laugh harder. Leaping off another branch, he reached over his shoulder, burying his fingers in her hair before yanking as hard as he could to fling her in front of him.

She barely had time to register his uproarious laughter through the agony of impact against something solid before her world blacked out again.

* * *

Racing through the trees, Hound's squad maintained a steady pace, hoping to catch up to Mizuki and Naruto. Fortunately, Mizuki continued being careless, making it easy to track him.

Their temporary teammate neither complained nor requested a break to rest, impressing the ANBU further. Hound had him flanking to the right opposite Cat as Raccoon brought up the rear in their diamond formation. He thought he'd have to slow their pace if Iruka lagged, but the chuunin held his position perfectly.

Cat broke into Hound's musings. "Taichou, it looks like the suspect is heading toward the eastern black market."

"Yeah, looks that way," Hound mused thoughtfully.

"The eastern black market?" Iruka asked in confusion.

"Mizuki won't want to get caught with the Forbidden Scroll, so he'll want to sell it fast and take the money to disappear," Raccoon explained. "There are several black markets and all float from location to location to evade prosecution. However, the four largest ones operate within certain areas. The eastern black market is the closest one to Konoha and being among the four largest they're likely to pay Mizuki well for the Forbidden Scroll."

Iruka fell silent the rest of the way, lost in thought wondering how his best friend could betray the village and, even worse, kidnap Naruto. Silently he prayed she was all right as he reluctantly relived memories of her disappearance years ago.

Hound stopped the team when they neared the boundaries of the current black market location. They spread out to do some reconnaissance to determine how many guards there were, their location and possibly sight Mizuki and Naruto.

Within a half hour they reconvened at a clearing well outside of the patrol radius of the market guards.

"Report," Hound ordered, looking at Cat.

"I counted two, two-man patrols running a concentric pattern approximately sixty meters from the old livestock barn."

"I don't think they're dealing with any sensitive exchanges today, taichou," Raccoon stated. "There seems to be only four guards inside the building."

"I overheard two people walking near my location say they're holding a slave auction today," Iruka added quietly, feeling sick to his stomach at what that could mean for Naruto.

"That would explain the low number of guards. The operators aren't likely to encounter trouble at a slave auction," Hound mused. "I didn't observe mercenaries or anyone who are more interested in buying weapons or sensitive information entering the premises."

"It looks like Mizuki is trying to kill two birds with one stone," Raccoon reasoned.

"To sell both Naruto and the Forbidden Scroll?" Cat asked doubtfully.

"It would've been easier for Mizuki to kill Naruto and take the scroll," Hound explained. "He's not going to go through the effort of ransoming her. That only leaves selling her at a slave auction."

"Meaning more money to disappear with. The bastard," Cat spat venomously.

"Iruka," Hound broke into Iruka's painful reverie. "You will infiltrate the black market under a henge as a buyer. We will sneak in separately. If we're correct that Naruto will be put up for auction, you are to initiate a distraction. This will focus the attention of any guards hidden among the buyers on you, making it easier for us to take them out. You are to grab Naruto and get her to safety while we shut down the operation. Understood?"

"Understood," Iruka nodded, his face set with determination.

Hound nodded back and signaled them to disperse back into the trees.

* * *

The smell was the first thing Naruto noticed.

In fact, she was pretty sure that woke her up. It was an old, dank scent. She wasn't sure, but thought it was of livestock.

Finally opening her eyes, she looked around. The room was empty save for three other girls. Two brunettes huddled together in a far corner, while the third, a blonde, cowered alone against another wall. Two appeared close to her age with one being maybe eight.

"Where are we?" she asked, sitting up with a groan.

"Don't talk," the blonde hissed. "They threatened to hurt us if we talk."

Naruto was only half listening as she gawked down at herself, wondering what the hell happened to her clothes. She was wearing a simple, shapeless cotton sack dress and could tell it was really short because she could feel her bare butt on the floor.

Wait, bare butt?

Tugging her collar away, Naruto stared down into the dress in horror and was scared to realize she wasn't wearing any underwear. She glanced at the other girls, finally noticing they were wearing the same dress.

She didn't have long to think about it when the door slammed open and three men entered the room. One grabbed the two girls huddling together as another dragged the blonde out of the room, causing all three to whimper and start crying.

The third reached down and yanked Naruto to her feet. She struggled, hitting and biting to get loose. Next thing she knew she was gasping for air. The jerk carried her out against his body in a tight chokehold. Her hands scrabbled at his forearm, trying to get him to loosen his grip.

Soon all four girls stand side by side in the brightly lit center of a large, crowded room. The ass who carried Naruto stood behind her and kept a firm grip on the back of her neck, sending a shiver down her spine since it reminded her of her captivity years ago.

Another dark haired man dressed in a fancy, silk yukata stood nearby. Naruto couldn't see the faces in the crowd very well since they were in deep shadows and she struggled to keep from panicking from the reminder of another time and place.

"Now that everyone is ready, let's get the auction started!" the fancy dressed man announced with a clap of his hands before gesturing at the girls.

Naruto watched in shock as the blonde girl was forced onto an overturned crate. The man herding her yanked her dress up to her chin, exposing her to the jeering crowd. The girl tried pulling her dress back down, but her handler slapped her as the announcer addressed the crowd.

"Do I have any bids for this one?"

Murmurs rippled through the crowd, but no one spoke up. Outraged, Naruto stepped forward to help the struggling blonde girl who kept getting hit and slapped, but was viciously yanked back by her hair and a large hand wrapped around her throat, making it difficult to breathe.

"Shut up and stay put," her handler's voice growled threateningly in her ear.

"Anyone? Are there any bids?" the announcer bellowed over the crowd. "Last chance!"

Seeing no one was interested, the announcer nodded to the blonde's handler.

Naruto watched in horrified disbelief as the thug yanked the blonde's hair back, forcing her to look up before dragging a sharp knife firmly across her throat from ear to ear. Jeers and cheers emanated from the crowd as her limp corpse was carried off.

Naruto felt sick and numb watching each crying brunette took their turn and met their death in the same grisly fashion. Her mind repeatedly echoed the mantra, '_Please wake up! Please wake up!_'

She barely registered it was her turn when she was forced onto the crate. The crowd fell silent when a blue haired man dressed in a formal kimono stepped forward to address the announcer.

"Fifty million ryo," the blue haired man solemnly declared.

"Is that an opening bid?" the auctioneer asked hopefully.

"No. It is my offer for outright purchase," the man calmly replied. "It is pointless to ask for other bids as I will match any offer. I will not be outbid."

"Do I hear any objections?" the auctioneer asked the crowd. Seeing there were none, he nodded to the blue haired man with a smile. "Sold, for fifty million ryo!"

Applause erupted around the room as two other men emerged from the crowd to flank the buyer.

Naruto felt her handler's hand close tightly around her throat when she shifted her stance to try making a break for it.

"You aren't going anywhere except with your buyer," his voice growled in her ear as she gasped for breath.

Smiling, Mizuki joined the small group. "Congratulations on your purchase, Masashi-sama," he bowed in greeting to the blue haired man. "I'd like to ask for my commission off the sale since I brought her to the auction."

Masashi arched a blue brow. "That is between you and the auctioneer. I'm merely a buyer who has completed a sale."

Mizuki's hand flashed out at Naruto's handler, stabbing him between the eyes.

She only had enough time to register his grip loosened from her throat when she was roughly yanked off the crate against another body, feeling the sharp edge of kunai against her throat.

"I'm sorry for including you in this, Masashi-sama, but this fool," Mizuki explained pleasantly, nodding at the auctioneer, "has cheated me before. I just want to make sure I get my cut, the right amount too, in front of witnesses."

Naruto tuned out the vehement denial of the auctioneer when she felt the heavy weight of someone staring at her. Her eyes locked on the man called Masashi. She didn't like the look in his unwavering gaze. She couldn't figure out what it meant, but the way he stared, almost into her soul, shook her to the core.

Without warning Mizuki released her and she felt several kunai whooshing close by her head. Shocked, she watched hell break loose around her. Her mind sluggishly noted a couple of ANBU fighting with the guards as the crowd around them panicked and ran screaming for the exits.

The sudden presence of another body next to her and grabbing her upper arm snapped her out of her stupor. She twisted and struggled in their grip when a wonderfully familiar voice broke through her panic.

"It's okay, Naruto, it's me," Iruka soothed as her startled blue eyes snapped to him. "Just stay close while I get you out of here."

Naruto nodded as he shifted his attention to Masashi's two men rushing up to them. Iruka roughly pushed her behind him while drawing two kunai.

Naruto watched Iruka duck the short blades slashing at him. He effectively dodged a fatal strike to come up behind one of the men to deftly snap his neck.

Iruka immediately defended against the remaining attacker, but was nearly wounded when the sight of Mizuki in his peripheral vision momentarily distracted him. Stabbing his opponent in the shoulder, he barely had time to helplessly watch his former friend grab Naruto and disappear into the chaos.

* * *

Iruka wasn't the only one to notice Mizuki's escape with Naruto.

Hound frowned behind his mask before incapacitating another guard. As suspected, there were some hidden in the crowd. He ordered his squad not to kill all the guards, but to capture a couple, especially the auctioneer.

Cat already had the auctioneer trussed up while Raccoon was busy taking care of his opponents. They will certainly have some worthwhile guests for Ibiki.

None of them worried about the crowd, knowing chances were good the auctioneer will name who was in attendance. They can arrest them later.

Hound stepped up his efforts to finish things up. They needed to help Iruka apprehend Mizuki and free Naruto.

* * *

Mizuki raced deeper into the forest while Naruto struggled to get out of his grip. When they emerged from the building, Mizuki only took a moment to sloppily bind her arms to her body with nin wire. Her forearms and hands are free and she tried to free herself as he carried her with one arm around her waist.

Without warning he viciously flung her ahead. She hit the ground hard and skid for a few yards. She barely registered the nin wire loosened from her arms as Mizuki shifted her onto her back to sit on her hips and pinned her wrists together above her head with one hand.

"You're nothing but trouble!" he shouted before spitting into her face. "You'll suffer!"

Naruto watched him reach behind his back with his free hand and felt something, cold, sharp and metallic slide painfully up her thigh toward her crotch. Her eyes widened in horror as his intention became clear. Snapping her legs closed she twisted, bucked and struggled to get out from under him. She ignored the pain from the razor sharp blade knowing it was better than the alternative.

Suddenly Mizuki's weight disappeared. Looking over she watched him land in an awkward heap across the clearing. Easing upright onto one hand, her eyes dropped to her lap as her other hand gently examined the deep cuts all over her bloody thighs.

Her eyes snapped up when Iruka appeared next to her. Wincing at the damage, he supported her back with one hand while the other gently touched one of her knees. "Are you all right, Naruto?"

"Y-yeah, I'll be okay, Iruka-sensei," she answered shakily.

Iruka smiled reassuringly. His eyes constantly flicked over to where Mizuki lay groaning. "Do you think you can walk?"

Naruto briefly considered it before nodding. "Yeah, I think so."

"Good," he nodded before pointing over his left shoulder behind him. "Head that way. You'll meet up with an ANBU squad." His gaze intensified as he added, "I'll take care of things here."

"It doesn't matter what you do!" Mizuki shouted, struggling awkwardly to his feet. "You both are dead!"

With a primal yell he charged Iruka who rushed from Naruto with a kunai drawn to clash against Mizuki's.

Stunned, she watched both sensei furiously battle. She was impressed at Iruka-sensei because he was obviously a very capable fighter. However, she noticed that Mizuki was a very dirty fighter, keeping Iruka constantly on the defensive.

Heeding Iruka's orders Naruto eased to her bare feet and staggered in the direction he indicated.

"No you don't, bitch!" Mizuki yelled, kicking Iruka away to hurl several kunai at her back.

Iruka rushed Naruto, knocking her to the ground. He spun around to try deflecting the kunai, but was too slow, ending up pinned against the broad trunk of a tree.

Mizuki took advantage of Iruka's momentary distraction to laugh uproariously.

"You're such an idiot, Iruka! Why are you bothering with this monster who killed your parents?"

"Naruto didn't kill my parents," Iruka grunted, yanking a kunai from his shoulder. "The fox demon did."

"Of course, she did! They're one in the same!" Mizuki noticed Naruto sitting on the ground watching them in morbid fascination and sneered at her, "Oh, didn't you know? Let me enlighten you. Consider it my last lesson to you, my _dear_ student. The Kyuubi that nearly destroyed the village and killed all those shinobi years ago is sealed inside _you_!"

The silence stretched out and Mizuki's mocking grin melted off when Naruto merely arched a brow, saying, "So? That's old news, you half-baked traitor. The fox was sealed inside me by the Yondaime to save the village. I didn't attack the village because everyone says it was the Kyuubi, not a fifteen meter tall infant."

Pulling the last kunai from his body, Iruka couldn't resist snorting in laughter at the absurd image Naruto's comment conjured and at Mizuki's gobsmacked expression. His own switched from amusement to horror as he watched Mizuki angrily whip out a storage scroll and summon a giant shuriken.

"I'll be hailed for finally killing the monster! Die bitch!" Mizuki snarled, lobbing the shuriken at her with all his might.

Naruto tried scrambling to her feet, but only managed a desperate crawl. The wind is knocked out of her as a blow to her side sent her rolling. Coming to rest on her side, she eased herself onto an elbow to stare in shock at Iruka laying face down in the dirt with a giant shuriken stuck in his back.

The laugh she was growing to hate with a passion drew her attention back to Mizuki.

"A fool to the end, eh, Iruka?" he asked before shrugging. "A little out of order, but I was going to kill you anyway."

"Kage Bunshin!"

Mizuki blinked stupidly at the sudden crowd of seething redheads clenching their fists or cracking their knuckles around him.

"You're dead," echoed ominously throughout the clearing.

Mizuki screams as the horde overwhelmed him. He was pulled by his hair in random directions to meet another kick or blow. The clones didn't give him a chance to defend himself as they relentlessly assaulted. Finally it stopped as he lay in a crumpled pile on the ground, struggling to breathe. He was roughly yanked up to his knees to stare into Naruto's cold, angry face.

He confused her by chuckling.

"Yes, show the world your true self! Now everyone will see what a true demon you are!" he goaded. "I can die honorably because I was able to reveal the truth and show everyone what a monster you are! Everyone will honor my sacrifice and efforts to rid Konoha of you!"

Naruto gaped at his smirking face.

"Go on! Kill me!" he dared.

The smirk morphed into a wheezing grimace when her foot nailed home right in the balls.

"They always need falsettos in the prison choir, Traitor-teme," Naruto mused while he crumpled onto himself into unconsciousness.

Turning away she limped over to where Iruka lay. Kneeling next to him, she reached out and gently touched his neck. She let out a loud sigh of relief when she felt his pulse. Dropping her hand back to her side, she grimaced at the shuriken sticking out of his back and tried to remember the first aid lessons at the academy.

Panic erupted through her body as old memories mixed with new horrors, overwhelming her to the point she couldn't think straight. Gasping for breath and feeling lightheaded, she struggled against the bile surging dangerously in her stomach and tried not to throw up on Iruka's unconscious form.

Unable to walk, she crawled over to a nearby tree. She tried leaning back against it with her eyes closed, waiting for the sick feeling to pass before she gave up in frustration and leaned her forehead against her knees.

* * *

Securing the location of the black market took a lot longer than Hound liked. They had to check every inch of the premises for any other suspects before they could follow Iruka. Had they not checked, they wouldn't have found one of the organizers hiding in a back room, waiting for the coast to be clear before escaping.

Once they gathered all the surviving suspects into one room and locked it, Hound sent a message to intercept the back up squad that should be en route by now before racing to find Iruka.

They found the location easily enough and Hound took in what evidently was the scene of a battle.

A dazed Mizuki lay curled on his side at the far side of the clearing, clutching at his crotch and whimpering. Iruka lay closer to their position facedown with a giant shuriken in his back.

He scanned the rest of the clearing and it wasn't long before he located Naruto off to his right. She sat against a tree, clutching her knees. Her violent shaking and unfocused eyes stared out at the clearing and clearly told him that she was going into shock.

"Racoon, check on Iruka. Cat, see if you can bring Naruto out of her shock."

Both nod as Hound walked over to Mizuki. With zero consideration or gentleness, he roughly yanked Mizuki up by the hair. Ignoring his pained yelps, Hound removed Mizuki's flak jacket and disarmed him of all weapons before securely binding his hands behind his back. His sadistic side surfaced as he attached nin wire to Mizuki's wrists and threaded it between his legs to tie it to the rope encircling his waist to keep his bound wrists close to his back.

Hound carelessly shoved Mizuki by the shoulder, toppling him over onto the ground with another yelp.

Stepping over to Raccoon who had removed the shuriken and was pressing a compress into Iruka's back, Hound asked, "How's Iruka?"

"He's alive, Taichou," Raccoon answered. "His wounds are serious, but not life threatening. He should be able to walk on his own back to the village, but we'll have to allow him breaks to rest."

"No!"

Both Raccoon and Hound looked over toward Cat just in time to watch Naruto smack her arm away before cowering further into the tree.

"Naruto," Cat soothed. "Crimson Sky."

Naruto didn't answer. Her irregular breathing echoed throughout the clearing as she stared warily at Cat while her shaking intensified.

"You're safe, Naruto. No one is going to hurt you. Remember, Crimson Sky," Cat continued, trying to break through the girl's hysteria.

Iruka grunted and shifted under Raccoon's hand, drawing Hound and Raccoon's attention back to him.

Opening his eyes, he sighed in relief when he saw them

"I take it things went well at the black market?" his rough voice asked.

"Yes," Raccoon answered. "We secured the suspects until they can be escorted back to Konoha and turned over to T&I."

"How's Naruto?"

"Hysterical," Hound replied honestly. "Cat hasn't been able to calm her down. We need you to calm her down or we're going to have to sedate her."

Nodding, Iruka slowly pushed himself with a pain filled grunt as Raccoon and Hound helped him to his feet. Leaning heavily on Raccoon, Iruka limped over to Cat and Naruto.

Hound mused on how the Sandaime's intuitive foresight still managed to amaze him after all these years. Had Iruka not accompanied their team they would've had to knock her unconscious for the trip home. Hound was certain that would be psychologically damaging to the already traumatized girl.

He observed Iruka speaking quietly to Naruto. She eventually focused her glassy eyed attention on him until recognition lit up her eyes and she began sobbing in his arms.

Raccoon had returned to stand by Hound's side and murmured, "Aside from what she witnessed earlier, Mizuki must've inflicted some serious harm to cause Naruto to break down this badly."

Hound merely nodded as Iruka gradually calmed Naruto down.

"Iruka." When the battered chuunin looked over, Hound continued, "We have to treat your wounds and any Naruto may have before returning to the village."

Iruka curtly nodded and murmured to Naruto who mutely nodded. Raccoon stepped forward as Cat dug out a first aid kit. Together they treated their injuries, making sure to move slowly as to not startle Naruto back into hysterics. Iruka continued reassuring the young redhead until they finished.

"Are you feeling up to walking, Iruka, or do you need one of us to carry you?" Raccoon asked.

"I can walk," Iruka smiled briefly. "But I don't know about Naruto," he finished seriously.

"Since she's barefoot, Raccoon and I will alternate carrying her. When we do, we'll have to remain close to you in case she becomes agitated again," Hound reasoned.

"All right," Iruka agreed reluctantly, knowing the wound on his back won't allow him to carry Naruto instead.

"Let's go," Hound ordered.

Cat and Raccoon helped Iruka to his feet before focusing on Naruto. With Iruka's help, they coaxed her onto Raccoon's back.

Hound walked back over to Mizuki. Bending over he grabbed his wrists and hauled him to his feet, eliciting a howl of pain from the nin wire digging into his nether regions. Ignoring the noise, Hound yanked on his forearm to get him walking, ignoring Mizuki's moans and whimpers.

It was slow going as they head for home. They remained on high alert and walked in silence for the next two hours.

Hound disappeared for a few minutes when they passed in the vicinity of the black market. He met up with the captains of the two ANBU squads sent by the Hokage as back up. They had received his message regarding the location of the black market and having to further pursue Mizuki.

Once both teams finished debriefing each other, two members from the back up squads are sent to accompany Hound's team. Their captain ordered them to remain out of sight to prevent Naruto from getting agitated by their presence.

Hound caught up to his squad and debriefed them via hand signals.

"I wish we could give him a traitor's death," Cat hissed later in the day just loud enough for Hound to hear.

Having refused Hound's suggestion to take his turn carrying Naruto, Raccoon continued walking ahead of them with Naruto and Iruka.

She could hear the smile in his voice as he reminded her, "Hokage's orders."

"Just as well," she sighed heavily. "We would've happily gotten into a brawl over who got to grant the traitor a slow and agonizing death."

"Hey! I was doing everyone a favor by offing that demon bitch!" Mizuki protested over his shoulder.

Cat roughly yanked his wrists away from his body, tearing another howl from him that was abruptly cut off by the sharp smack she gave him to the back of the head.

"Shut up or you'll disturb Naruto, traitor!" Cat snapped. Noticing Hound looking at her, she innocently asked, "What? The Hokage's orders did not exclude reasonable force to keep the prisoner in line."

She could tell Hound was smiling behind his mask when he asked, "How's Naruto?"

Iruka glanced over his shoulder to answer, "Unconscious. I don't know if that's any better than her unresponsive stupor."

"It's better," Raccoon assured him. "She's exhausted and it keeps her from getting agitated by sudden noises or movement."

Iruka reluctantly nodded as they continued walking.

* * *

Hound and his squad don't arrive in Konoha until after dark. They kept their arrival low key by entering through one of several obscure gates only used by ANBU.

Carrying Naruto, Hound took her and Iruka to the hospital while Cat and Raccoon delivered Mizuki to Ibiki.

While Naruto and Iruka were getting treated, Hound met with the Hokage and delivered his report. When finished, he waited patiently as the Hokage remained in thoughtful silence.

"I fear there will be a lot more for Naruto to deal with than her last kidnapping," the old man sighed wearily after a few minutes. His gaze refocused on Hound. "Thank you for your hard work. Your mission is complete. Go and get some rest."

Hound uncharacteristically shifted before asking, "Won't my team be needed for guard detail should you have Naruto stay in the secured ward while in the hospital for treatment, Hokage-sama?"

The Hokage smiled, "Probably. However, your team needs the rest and I do have other trusted squads available to guard Naruto at the moment. Depending on how long she stays in the hospital, I may assign your team to her detail."

Hound reluctantly nodded before bowing and disappearing from the Hokage's sight.

* * *

Iruka was certain boredom had to be the leading cause of death among ninjas. Glaring up at the blank ceiling above his bed he figured boredom either drove ninjas to suicide or to do something crazy to alleviate it, which invariably leads to their deaths.

His theorizing was interrupted when Sarutobi entered his hospital room and cheerfully greeted him.

"Good morning, Iruka, how are you feeling today?"

"Good morning, Hokage-sama," Iruka greeted back before smirking, "I've only been in here for three days, but I feel that if I don't get out of this hospital soon I'm going to unleash my old pranking habits on the medics and nurses."

Sarutobi laughed. "That would certainly make things lively around here."

Iruka's smile faded as he asked, "Have you visited Naruto yet this morning?"

"Yes," Sarutobi sighed, easing into a chair next to the bed. "I'm not an expert in psychology, but I'd say Mizuki attacking and kidnapping her has significantly affected her."

"She's still refusing all other visitors aside from us?" Iruka asked the older man.

"Yes," he nodded. "However, the medics and counselors still have to see her and neither of us can be present all the time. She remains emotionless and hyper vigilant to them, watching anyone entering her room like a hawk. I finally had to order her ANBU guards to remain outside her room. Despite hiding in the shadows, she can still sense them and refuses to relax her guard and rest when alone."

Iruka sighed heavily as his head fell heavily back against the pillows. "She's been that way to me too. I had hoped that maybe she was only that way with me out of fear I might turn on her like Mizuki."

"It's not just you, Iruka," Sarutobi reassured him. "It's also not her simply being overly wary either. I asked her to tell me what happened that night when I visited her this morning."

Iruka's head snapped up to gape at him.

"I needed to know what happened and the medic treating her said she was up for it," Sarutobi explained. "She gave a very succinct report, leaving out a lot of details."

Leaning back in the chair, Sarutobi sighed again heavily. "I kept trying to coax more details out of her, but she remained evasive." He paused as his gaze bored into Iruka's. "I know she was holding back on many details because when she described the attack near the shed, she didn't say anything about Mizuki molesting her."

Iruka gasped in shock before softly asking, "Mizuki molested her? H-how do you know?"

"Because I bore witnessed when I used my crystal ball to locate Naruto." Sarutobi's eyes closed briefly and his head dropped slightly forward before meeting Iruka's horrified gaze. "Once Mizuki left the range of the crystal ball, I called upon that ANBU squad because they specialize in tracking. When Naruto continued being evasive, I told her what I witnessed. That is when she finally admitted to what really happened, showing me there is something seriously wrong with her."

"What do you mean?" Iruka hesitantly asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"She was too emotionless and detached," Sarutobi explained. "She appeared unaffected by what Mizuki did. We both know that's a sign of residual trauma." Iruka nodded in agreement as Sarutobi continued. "As I prodded for more details, especially regarding any part that was particularly traumatic, she became colder and distant."

"Hokage-sama," Iruka interrupted. "Naruto is too caring to be unaffected. I know she had to have been horrified witnessing those other girls being killed when they didn't sell."

"Normally, you would be correct, but she treated that part like she was discussing the weather. She behaved the same way when she described Mizuki's attempt to rape her with a kunai after escaping with her from the slave market. I finally asked why she was behaving that way and she replied she was only efficiently reporting the facts as any proper shinobi should. Any extra emotion would distort those facts. As far as she's concerned it happened, she survived and it's time to move on."

"Combine that with her past experiences and it's not really surprising she's behaving that way, is it, Hokage-sama?" Iruka asked with a distressed look on his face.

"No, it is not," Sarutobi agreed, shaking his head. "She is at least going along with the counseling so far."

"Good," Iruka sighed in relief. Smiling he added, "We need to restore some of her old spark or the village will get too boring."

The two men chuckled and continued chatting before Sarutobi excused himself to return to duty.

* * *

Stealing as fast as he could down the hospital corridors in a medical yukata, Iruka contemplated designing a lesson on escaping captivity while injured. Sneaking around for an unauthorized visit with Naruto in the secured ward was not easy.

He didn't want to go through the hassle of notifying a nurse of his intention because they would insist on accompanying him. Having another person in the room made Naruto even more uncomfortable. Besides, there was no reason for the nurse to stay during his visit since he and Naruto were both in the secured ward. The Hokage took his usual precaution of insisting Naruto remain there and made a special allowance for Iruka to keep him nearby in case they need him.

Iruka figured he must be amusing the ANBU guards, but he wasn't bothering to try hiding from them. He just wasn't interested in dealing with an overly curious nurse.

Reaching his destination, he slipped inside Naruto's room. He wasn't surprised she was alert and watched his every move.

"Hi, Naruto," Iruka greeted warmly. He calmly and slowly walked toward her bed. "Sorry for barging in, but I wanted to see how you're doing without a well-meaning nurse tagging along."

He ignored her tensing up to ease into the chair next to her bed with a relieved sigh.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm fine."

"Not feeling any discomfort or pain?"

"No."

"I'm surprised you're not climbing the walls to get out of here or pranking the medics and nurses into hysterics," Iruka proded.

"It doesn't get me out any sooner, Iruka-sensei," Naruto replied dully.

"Naruto," Iruka began seriously. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

Naruto didn't answer and continued serenely watching him.

Tamping down the urge to shout at her, Iruka tried again. "Naruto, I'm not Mizuki." He noticed her body stiffened even more, but continued anyway. "He put you through hell…"

"I'm tired, Iruka-sensei," Naruto declared, refusing to look him directly in the eyes as she slid down further into the bed. "Sorry, but I should sleep."

Naruto curled on her side, but doesn't close her eyes. Catching the hint, he knew he should leave, but desperately wanted to try breaking through to her one last time.

"I just wanted to come by and tell you that you graduated. You're a genin," he stated quietly while pulling a hitai-ate out of the pocket of his yukata. "I haven't been able to get out of the hospital to get you a new one, so I hope you don't mind if I give you mine."

He laid it on the bed near her knee. He watched as her gaze reluctantly shift to the dirty headband before easing into a sitting position to gently take it into her hands.

"Why?" she asked, staring down at the swirling leaf pattern.

"Because you persevered under extreme conditions, demonstrating your grasp of what you learned in the academy," Iruka gently explained.

"No I didn't," Naruto slowly shook her head while still staring at the headband. "I was failed 'cause I didn't learn anything and am a risk out in the field. You were right to fail me all those times and I should've just accepted it." She paused before quietly adding, "I probably should go back to the academy."

Iruka gaped in shock before gazing steadily at her despite her refusal to look him in the eye.

"Naruto, I'm not graduating you for any other reason than I _**know**_ you earned it."

Naruto set the headband back on the bed near him, repeating, "I'm tired, Iruka-sensei."

Making no move to take the headband, Iruka slowly rose to his feet. "Get some rest, Naruto. I'll visit again later."

* * *

Iruka lay on his back, brooding over Naruto when the Sandaime entered the room.

"Good evening, Iruka," he greeted warmly, taking a seat next to the bed.

"Good evening, Hokage-sama," Iruka greeted back, easing into a sitting position.

"I understand you took the opportunity to stretch your legs all the way to Naruto's room for the past two days without a nurse accompanying you."

"I wish I could say they were productive visits," Iruka sighed heavily.

"Well, it had more of an impact than you might believe." Iruka's gaze snapped to Sarutobi who merely pulled out his pipe and, without lighting it, placed it in his mouth. "She was acting normal when I visited her a little while ago. She wanted to know when the medics were going to let her out because she's missing out on valuable training time and old man Teuchi is going start thinking she gave up completely on his ramen."

Ignoring Iruka's stunned expression, Sarutobi chewed on his pipe for a few moments, adding, "I don't believe her for one minute. I know she was closed off with you again during your visits and the turnaround is too extreme for me to accept."

"She's only doing what she thinks we want her to," Iruka solemnly reasoned.

Sarutobi nodded. "She's been doing the same with the counselors who've tried working with her. None so far have been successful in coaxing her into opening up. Because of her behavior I asked the medics to create as many excuses as possible to keep her in the hospital until the counselor's efforts succeed, but they can't. Even the counselors have advised it would be damaging to her to keep her confined to the hospital any longer."

Overwhelmed, Iruka took a few moments to absorb the Sandaime's words. "The moment she's released she's going to go into hiding. She won't be able to deal with what's happened if she runs from this."

"It is the less destructive of their options," Sarutobi replied. "However, it's a risk we have to take. I will try to assign an ANBU team to track her, but that depends on availability. She will have to continue meeting with a therapist or I will be forced to have her committed to the psyche ward."

Iruka stared at Sarutobi in shock before sagging in defeat. "We really don't have a choice, do we?"

"No, we don't."

"Can you get the medics to release me? You'll need me to be available to her."

Sarutobi smiled. "It's already done. You can go home. The medics aren't too happy with me, but they usually aren't anyway."

Iruka grinned, "They'll get over it. Thank you, Hokage-sama."

* * *

A week later a knock on the door captured Sarutobi's attention as he diligently scribbled his life away through paperwork. Sighing softly in irritation, he set down his pen and reached for his pipe, wondering who was coming to bitch at him for allowing Naruto's sudden graduation and joining of the ranks.

"Come in," he ordered around his pipe.

He was pleased it was Iruka and not one of his seething former teammates.

"Ah, Iruka, please have a seat," he gestured at the empty chair.

"Afternoon, Hokage-sama," the bandaged chuunin greeted as he settled in the chair. "I stopped by hoping that Naruto has been easier for you to keep track of than she has been for me."

"No, she hasn't," the older man admited wearily. "As suspected, Naruto basically went into hiding once she was released. She does show up for her counseling appointments, but is hard to find any other time. By all indications, she is staying within the village, so I'm not overly concerned by her low profile."

"It's still not normal behavior," Iruka frowned. "How have her therapy sessions been going? Any improvement there?"

"Not at all. She either gives the therapists a hard time by sticking to severely limited answers or says what she thinks they want to hear." The Third paused to tap out his pipe and spent a few moments refilling it and lighting it before continuing. "I'm going to ask Yamanaka Inoichi to step in and work with her."

Iruka blinked in surprise. "Inoichi-san? I didn't know he was a therapist."

"He isn't," Sarutobi replied, stunning Iruka further. "He's well trained in his clan abilities and has studied psychology, but has no experience as a counselor. However, due to his assignment in T&I he has considerable analytical experience, but instead of using his skill to break Naruto, he will try to break through to her. I believe he can connect to Naruto far better than any of the other counselors."

The uncertain young chuunin rubbed at his scar while considering his leader's words. "You know Inoichi-san and his abilities far better than I, so it's probably what Naruto needs most right now since she's going out of her way to avoid the two of us and is refusing all other help."

"We're running out of options," Sarutobi reluctantly admitted. "Having Inoichi work with her is potentially the most successful and least damaging choice I have left."

"I hope it works," Iruka worriedly murmured.

"So do I," the Sandaime solemnly agreed.

* * *

Two weeks later another knock distracted Sarutobi from his work. Tamping down his irritation, he barely managed a civil sounding, "Come in."

He relaxed upon seeing Iruka.

"Ah, Iruka, have a seat," he invited more warmly.

"Are you sure, Hokage-sama?" Iruka asked hesitantly. "You sound like you're very busy."

"Just the usual frustrations accompanying this office," Sarutobi explained wearily. "What brings you on by? Checking up on Naruto?"

"Yes. I'm hoping I'm wrong by saying I haven't noticed any improvement with her. By all appearances she's meshing well enough with Team 7, but it still doesn't seem right. I'm wondering if Inoichi-san has made any progress with her and I'm just not seeing it."

"Unfortunately, no," Sarutobi solemnly replied. "Even Inoichi has become frustrated by her stubbornness. After a particularly combative session he came to me and suggested Ibiki take a crack at her to get her to open up since he's always up for a challenge."

"Combative?" Iruka asked in surprised confusion.

"Apparently she questioned his credentials, asking if Inoichi bought them on the Black Market." Sarutobi paused to watch Iruka wince. "She then questioned if he were even a shinobi or if Ino was making it up."

Iruka blew out a frustrated breath. "Yeah, I see why that didn't go over well with Inoichi-san." Reluctantly he added, "I've been after her to open up to me and she lashed out today. She yelled at me to stop bugging her because she didn't want to be a ninja anymore and then ripped off her headband and threw it at me before taking off."

Sarutobi studied the young man sitting before him. He saw how much Naruto's actions hurt him.

"This puts me in a very difficult position, Iruka." Grabbing his pipe he took a drag and continued. "It's too risky let her continue this way. Even her jounin-sensei is worried about her mental health, which means it had to be bad for Kakashi to tear his nose from his Icha Icha long enough to notice."

Iruka couldn't resist sharing a chuckle with Sarutobi over his joke.

Becoming serious again, Sarutobi continued. "I may have to have her confined to the psyche ward."

"You can't do that! It'll destroy her if you do!" Iruka protested.

"Don't you think she's doing an effective job of that all on her own?" Sarutobi asked, his keen eyes boring into Iruka.

Iruka blew out a harsh breath before he reluctantly nodded. "You're right, but please give me one last chance to get through to her."

Sarutobi studied the young man before finally conceding. "You have three days, counting today." At Iruka's confused expression he explained, "Her level of agitation and mental health worries me a great deal. I want to see her recover, but I also have to worry about the village if she loses control. If you don't find her and get through to her, I will send out a search detail. Understood?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Iruka nodded grimly and rose from his seat, leaving his Hokage to brood alone.

* * *

Iruka spent the rest of the day and every minute of the next day trying to find Naruto. He hoped to ambush her at her counseling appointment the next day, but she didn't even show up.

He literally looked everywhere and was really starting to worry by noon on the third day. Desperate, he decided to search the forest again. He didn't even set one foot inside the tree line when he saw her emerge from the shadows.

"Iruka-sensei?" she asked curiously.

"Naruto!" he called out in relief. He had to restrain himself from grabbing her into a hug. Since they got back to Konoha she reacted badly to all physical contact. "I was getting worried about you."

"Why?" she asked feigning surprise.

Tamping down his annoyance, Iruka patiently explained, "I've been looking for you for three days. No one has seen you, so of course I got worried."

Not meeting his gaze, Naruto nervously scratched behind her ear. "I knew you'd be looking for me, but I thought the Old Man would've had a search party out for me already. I thought it's better to come in before I got dragged back by ANBU."

Iruka only nodded, deciding to let it go since she was calm and walked with her back into the village in silence.

"Well, since it's still early, how about we go for some ramen?"

Out of the corner of his eye Iruka watched her hesitate.

"I don't have any money," she feebly protested.

"You know it's always my treat, Naruto," he playfully admonished, rolling his eyes for emphasis. "Not unless you've got a hot date you have to get to."

He watched her struggle before she finally relented with a quiet, "Okay."

Iruka smiled at her reassuringly as he led them to Ichiraku Ramen. He planned for them to have lunch then go for a long walk, but scrapped that idea when he noticed how uncomfortable she was. Since their backs were to the street he watched her out of the corner of his eye fidget and repeatedly glance over her shoulder at every noise and voice that passed by.

"Hi, you two!" Ayame greeted as she stepped forward to take their orders. "Long time no see!"

"Hey, Ayame," Naruto quietly greeted.

"Hi, Ayame, how are you?" Iruka cheerfully greeted back.

"Good," the brunette answered before excitedly focusing on Naruto. "I hear you graduated! Congratulations!"

At Naruto's uncertain expression he spoke up, "That she has."

"Congratulations, Naruto!" Teuchi called out from his usual spot at the back of the stand.

Naruto smiled and waved, but Iruka could tell she was really anxious and uncomfortable with their attention.

Deciding things were getting too stressful, he stated, "I thought we'd celebrate with a ramen picnic, so I need two bowls to go."

"Great idea," Ayame agreed. "It's a beautiful day for it. The usual?"

"Yes, thank you."

Within minutes Iruka led a still tense Naruto through the crowds toward the park. He didn't fail to notice she relaxed considerably when they stepped within the boundaries as they went deeper into the surrounding woods.

They settled on a couple of large boulders in a small clearing as a large stream burbled noisily nearby. The area was far enough off the beaten path to ensure privacy and the boulders afforded a nice 360-degree view of the area surrounding them. It seemed to be a good spot as Naruto appeared more relaxed than he had seen her in days. However, he knew she was still wound tight because he finished eating his bowl long before she got halfway through hers.

He debated on badgering her about what's wrong or just waiting patiently for her to come to him. He decided to compromise between the two.

"I'm not going to push you to talk," he quietly stated, breaking the serene silence. "When you're ready, I'm here to listen." Out of the corner of his eye he saw she stopped eating and was listening. "Despite what you think, you've more than earned the right to wear the Konoha leaf. I'm proud of how well you handled yourself throughout Mizuki's plot, but I'm sorry for not being there for you when you needed it."

Naruto looked at him confused. "Why are you sorry? You're one of the few who care, much less bothered to come rescue me."

"I'm sorry for not being there for you while you attended the academy," Iruka smiled warmly. "When I lost my parents during the Kyuubi attack everyone sympathized with me, but then eventually forgot I was there as they moved on with their own lives. My grades dropped and I became the class clown to get their attention. You're just like me and I remember how lonely it was and should've been there for you more. If I had, then maybe Mizuki wouldn't of had the chance to hurt you like he did. I'm so sorry you had to go through that," he apologized emphatically. "I hope you'll reconsider becoming a shinobi because after seeing you in action against Mizuki I believe you'll surpass all the Hokage before you."

Naruto stared in shock. "I thought you were unconscious."

"I kept going in and out of consciousness," he explained. "I was awake long enough to see your reaction to Mizuki's goading. I'm proud of how you took the high road and incapacitated him rather than go for the kill even though you would've been more than justified. That would've been a difficult decision even for the most seasoned shinobi."

Iruka sighed heavily, looking out at the beautiful scenery surrounding them before continuing.

"What Mizuki put you through is what shinobi are more likely to encounter on higher ranked missions. I won't to lie to you. As a shinobi going out into the field every mission has the potential of turning out that way or worse. It's difficult to overcome a mission that has gone south that badly, but it's not impossible. Even if you still don't want to become a ninja, I hope you won't let Mizuki win by allowing what he did to destroy you. You're a lot stronger than you think."

Iruka watched in concern when Naruto remained still. She sat quietly for the longest time and didn't move or react when he gently removed the unfinished ramen bowl from her grasp. He waited patiently for her reaction and was immensely relieved when he saw the first silent teardrops dampen her lap. At her first sob he pulled her into his arms.

Through her tears she hoarsely admitted, "I don't know what to do or how to fix this."

"You don't have to figure it out alone, Naruto," he assured her, rubbing soothing circles on her back. "We can help and want to help you, but you have to give us a chance."

"I'm scared of getting hurt again. I trusted Mizuki. Who else is gonna to turn on me?"

"It's a tough call," Iruka reluctantly admitted. "But you have to remember not everyone is out to hurt you. There are people like me who care for you and love you. I don't want to see you deny others the opportunity and honor of getting to know you because of Mizuki's treachery."

Naruto didn't answer, but continued crying into his chest. Iruka continued trying to soothe her, giving her time to cry it out.

When her crying finally subsided, he asked, "Are you ready to return with me to the village and see the Third? He's very worried about you."

Naruto's only answer was to nod numbly and slide off the boulder. She allowed him to guide her by shoulder all the way to the Hokage tower.

* * *

It was another long day and Iruka was grateful to be free for the rest of the evening. He loved his duties as both an academy sensei and working as an administrator in the Tower, but there were days like today where he was more than eager to leave the grind behind for a relaxing afternoon.

Exiting through the main doors, he stopped when he heard someone calling out his name. Looking off to his left he was surprised to see Yamanaka Inoichi strolling up.

"Haven't seen you in awhile, Iruka, how've you been?"

"I'm good, Inoichi-san," Iruka greeted back. "The last time we saw each other was when Ino graduated from the academy."

"Which feels like the last time I saw Ino myself since she became a genin," Inoichi rolled his eyes, prompting Iruka to laugh.

Iruka turns serious, stating, "I know you can't breach patient confidentiality, but I'd like to know how Naruto is doing? She tells me her sessions are going well, but I need to know if that's genuinely true."

"If Naruto didn't trust you, I probably wouldn't answer that question at all," Inoichi replied honestly. "But since I'm not going into specifics I can honestly say she's doing much better and improving."

"She's no longer fighting you in her sessions?" Iruka asked, unable to curb his disbelief.

"No," Inoichi smiled. "She's become more cooperative and from what she says it's all thanks to you. I think we would've had to commit her to the psyche ward if you hadn't gotten through to her, Iruka," he admitted seriously.

"It almost didn't work, so all the credit really goes to Naruto."

"She had to want to reach out for help," Inoichi agreed, crossing his arms across his chest. "She's really impressed me with her determination to overcome this. I had no real opinion of Naruto one way or other prior to this. I didn't hate her for being the container, but I didn't think much of her either," the older blond shrugs. "But she definitely won me over."

"I wish more people thought the way you do, Inoichi-san," Iruka sighed heavily.

"Given time, they will because Naruto will win them over with her efforts," he reassured the younger man. "They just need a forceful nudge to get them to take the time to really _see_ her, which is why I've even gone so far as to take her home to have dinner with my family."

At Iruka's arched brow and incredulous expression, Inoichi laughed. "I know it's unusual, but unusual seems to work best with Naruto."

"I can't argue with that," Iruka admitted, "but what about Ino? She's never been friendly toward Naruto."

"Well, that hasn't exactly been going very smoothly," Inoichi wearily admitted. "Ino has definitely been jealous. I'm not about to break Naruto's trust by clueing Ino in on her situation to get her to be more accepting. However, I'm trying to show Naruto that it's okay to risk forming relationships outside her current, albeit small, circle of trusted people. She needs to know not everyone is like Mizuki. I feel a friendship between the girls would be mutually beneficial. Ino needs to learn to be more tolerant and accepting of others while Naruto needs friends her own age." With a heavy sigh he paused to roll his eyes. "After evaluating her teammates and listening to Naruto, I know she won't ever get that friendship with them."

Iruka agreed. "I hated having to assign her to the same team as Sakura and Sasuke, but the guidelines we use leave no room to be flexible."

"It's not such a bad thing because it's made Naruto more determined to do her best and improve," Inoichi reassured the brunet. "I've had to scold Ino a couple of times for her comments to Naruto. Ino behaves better towards her, but that only lasts as long as my wife or I are in the room."

"What has Naruto said about that?" Iruka asked before he immediately realized he was being too invasive. "I'm sorry! That's breaching patient confidentiality!"

"I don't think this is breaching it too much. It's not related to her attack and isn't too personal either," Inoichi thoughtfully reasoned before continuing. "Naruto tries avoiding discussing it, but I keep annoying her by tricking her into it," he grinned, causing Iruka to smirk. "She admits it hurts for Ino to be like that because she really wants to become friends. To me, that's a great sign. Naruto isn't cutting herself off from people and has the desire to connect with others."

Iruka briefly closed his eyes and sighed in relief. "That's really good to hear. I hardly get to see her interacting with anyone else, so I can't judge whether she's deliberately closing herself off from others or if it's the usual attitudes she encounters because of her situation."

"The important thing is that Naruto isn't giving up," Inoichi added. "Sooner or later Ino will have to open her eyes to reality as opposed to what she thinks is true. And that's something she can only learn the hard way," he shrugged.

"The best lessons are the most painful ones," Iruka mused thoughtfully, rubbing at his scar.

"True," the older man agreed. "I won't keep you any longer, Iruka, and I have to see the Hokage."

"Thank you for sharing that with me. It was nice seeing you again, Inoichi-san," Iruka nodded and continued down the path as the blond disappeared into the building.

* * *

A week later Ino wondered why she got saddled with the most annoying parents on the planet. It didn't make sense why her mother would send her on a mediocre errand to deliver some documents related to their flower shop to her father at the T&I building. She was a genin! She had more important things to do.

It was a concept her mother stubbornly refused to understand.

Her father wasn't any better. Didn't matter how many ways she looked at the situation, she just couldn't understand why he recently began bringing Naruto over to their house and force her to socialize with the baka. All the years she had to endure her at the academy in the same class and now her father wanted to socialize with the dead last? It just didn't make sense and all he'd say was he was trying to reach out to their fellow shinobi like true leaf nin should.

Ino wondered if the strain of working in T&I was getting to him.

What made the situation worse was that her mother was going along and allowing Naruto to invade their private life. Ino thought she was free of the annoying redhead's nonsense forever, but it seemed her parents wanted to punish her for some imagined slight.

So not only was Ino forced to waste her time on mediocre errands, but she had to play nice to the baka in her off time. She really wished she knew what she did to piss off her parents.

As she turned a corner in the corridors of the T&I building, Ino's brooding thoughts are interrupted when she saw Naruto leaving her father's office up ahead. The redhead turned the opposite direction. She was too lost in her own thoughts to notice Ino rounding the corner.

Ino's eyes narrow in annoyance and decided to figure out what game the baka was running on her dad. It had to be some sort of prank or scam because why else would he be bothering with a loser like Naruto?

Rushing forward, Ino barged into Inoichi's office.

"Hi, daddy! Mom asked me to drop these off. Gotta go meet up with my team. Bye!" she said in a rush.

Inoichi didn't even get the chance to greet Ino as she rushed his desk to drop a file on top before disappearing out the door.

"What the hell?" he muttered.

Shaking his head, he reached for the folder, dismissing his daughter's odd behavior as another quirk he'll never figure out.

Meanwhile, Ino raced through the building to catch up with Naruto. Emerging back outside into the bright sunshine, she searched the area before determining which direction her quarry went. She was lucky the redhead was walking at a leisurely pace and caught up quickly.

"Hey, Naruto!" the blonde called, causing Naruto to stop and turn back toward her in surprise. "What are you doing bothering my dad at work?"

Naruto's happy expression at seeing Ino dropped. She hoped to have a friendly encounter with her for a change. Sighing softly in sad resignation, she turned and continued on without a word, knowing Ino would only continue being a royal pain in the ass if given half a chance.

"Hey!" Ino protested. "Where are you going?" Not receiving an answer, she gritted her teeth. "I'm serious. I want to know why you're leaving my dad's office? I know T&I clients are never out patients."

Ino trailed after the redhead. "Don't ignore me!" she demanded. "He's my dad and doesn't know you like I do. I want to know what kind of scam you're running that has him convinced it's a good idea to bring you over so much."

Naruto continued ignoring Ino. She knew there was no point in answering the blonde because it'd only give her more fodder to dump back on her. She did make a mental note to convince Inoichi that it was a bad idea to keep coming over for dinner at their house since Ino obviously wasn't changing her attitude toward her at all.

Ino considered giving up, but realized if she didn't get to the bottom of things her dad would keep bringing the loser over to their house. She then remembered hearing a couple of rumors involving Naruto and wondered if that might have something to do with her dad.

"Hey, Naruto," she nearly sang. "I heard something about you getting Mizuki-sensei into trouble and now he's no longer teaching." She noticed Naruto's shoulders tensed and believed she was on the right track. "It's funny how you failed the genin exam, _again_, then suddenly passed."

Ino unrelentingly followed Naruto through a twisting alleyway toward the training grounds. "I wondered how a baka like you managed to graduate when everyone knows you failed. Did you want to get at Sasuke so bad that you found a way to get Mizuki-sensei fired?" she asked.

Ino's words dripped with venomous contempt and she was so focused on Naruto, who continued ignoring her, that she didn't notice when they left the alley and passed Shikamaru and Choji.

"What's Ino doing?" Choji asked as they watch the two girls walk on.

"It doesn't look like a friendly chat and Ino is going to be late to our team meeting," Shikamaru mused.

"Asuma-sensei is going to be pissed if she's late again."

"We also won't get out on time, how troublesome," Shikamaru groused sullenly. "C'mon, Choji, lets' see what's going on."

Choji obediently followed his best friend as they hurried to catch up.

Naruto led the strange looking parade of genin across a training ground while Ino continued badgering her.

"So what happened, loser?" the blonde goaded. "I never believed you didn't have a crush on Sasuke-kun like the rest of us. Mizuki-sensei isn't bad looking either. So did you get pissed at the missed chance to be on Sasuke-kun's team and took it out on Mizuki-sensei?"

Despite the silence, Ino grew more vindictive. "Maybe you had a crush on Mizuki-sensei too. Hate to tell you this, driftwood, but he'd never return your feelings in a million years. Don't blame him for your failure to graduate. He tried helping you out. You shouldn't have lied to get him fired just because he was too good to return your pathetic feelings," she sneered.

Ino was too caught up in her spew that she failed to react when Naruto whirled around and slammed a fist into her jaw. The stunned blonde lay on her back but didn't finally react until she felt someone on top of her and they started punching and slapping her.

Growing even more pissed, she reached up and buried her hands in red hair. Yanking down hard, she managed to draw her legs up and position her feet against Naruto's belly to push up and roll back onto her shoulders. The redhead rolled headfirst over Ino who then reached up over her own shoulders to place her hands against the ground while flinging her legs backward then forward to flip back onto her feet.

Choji grabbed Naruto around the waist, struggling to hold her back. "Knock it off, Naruto!"

Ino smirked maliciously as she raised her hands into position for one of her clan jutsu. Her smirk dropped away as she struggled to move her hands closer together.

"That's enough, Ino," Shikamaru warned.

Ino angled her head enough to glare heatedly at him over her shoulder. "Let me go, Shikamaru!" she snarled.

"Not a chance. Now calm down."

"She started it!"

"Really?" he dryly asked. "Funny since you were following Naruto and doing all the talking."

"You don't get it, so stay out of it," Ino growled menacingly.

Their argument was cut off by the sound of sobbing. Surprised, both look over and saw Naruto sobbing in Choji's arms.

"She just started crying," Choji helplessly explained at Shikamaru's questioning expression.

"Alright, Ino," Shikamaru began, returning his attention back to his blonde teammate. "I'm going to release you. Don't do anything."

"Shut up," Ino snapped. "I'm not that cruel."

"After what I just saw, I'm not so sure," he muttered, earning another glare as he released her and straightened up.

The two cautiously approached Choji and Naruto.

Ino hung back in confusion while Shikamaru dropped to one knee in front of a still crying Naruto.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" he asked.

Shaking her head Naruto managed to croak through her tears, "Nothing."

Frowning in thought Shikamaru thought back to the part of the exchange he and Choji witnessed. Realization lit up his eyes. "What did Mizuki-sensei do to you?"

Stunned Naruto raised her head to stare at him in shock. Tears continued dripping down her cheeks as they watched her inwardly struggle.

"C'mon, Naruto," Choji gently prodded, giving her shoulders a slight squeeze. "What did Mizuki-sensei do?"

Naruto took a deep breath. "He tricked me into committing a crime against the village," she began reluctantly. "I'm forbidden to tell the details, but he said it was my last chance to graduate or I'd have to go back to the academy for another year. I did what he said and then he revealed his hoax and attacked me."

Naruto fell silent again and her gaze dropped the ground.

"Mizuki-sensei would never attack a student," Ino began protesting. The words caught in her throat when Naruto looked up at her. The pain in her eyes was undeniable. Naruto wasn't lying.

"What did he do?" she finally whispered hesitantly while slowly dropping to her knees next to Shikamaru.

Naruto hesitantly looked at all three of them. They weren't going to drop it even if she kept saying she was forbidden to talk about it. Swallowing thickly, she reluctantly detailed exactly what happened.

For several minutes Team 10 listened in horrified silence. When Naruto finished, she closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable protest or blow since Mizuki was a fairly popular teacher like Iruka.

She was surprised when she was engulfed in a hug. She was even more surprised to hear Ino's voice in her ear.

"I'm sorry for being a stupid idiot, Naruto," Ino sincerely apologized. "I jumped to all the wrong conclusions and shouldn't have been such a bitch to you. I'm so sorry for what that traitorous asshole did to you."

Naruto couldn't answer. Instead, she gratefully returned the hug, relieved and happy Ino finally accepted her.

"I was wondering where you guys were," a deep voice startled them.

The four teens turned to see Asuma approaching them.

"I went looking for you three when none of you showed up at the training ground," he explained while scrutinizing the scene before him. He noted the expressions on their faces, especially Naruto's irritated eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked, frowning in concern.

Shikamaru briefly explained what happened between the two girls, but deliberately left out Naruto's story. He figured Asuma would already know about that, but felt it was her choice to mention it.

Asuma studied them for a moment before he asked Naruto, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," she replied uncomfortably, rubbing the tears from her eyes. "Sorry for making Team 10 late."

Asuma studied her before deciding, "Don't worry about it. Besides it's really too late to do any training today and I'm hungry, so let's all go for some barbeque. Why don't you join us, Naruto?"

They all watched her silently struggle before Asuma dropped to one knee before her.

"Not everyone shares the same attitude as Mizuki," he gently pointed out. "I don't deny there are some who do, but those who are true Leaf shinobi do not. Please give us a chance to show you that truth."

Eyeing him warily, Naruto hesitated before asking, "Why are you all being nice to me now?"

Shikamaru realized what she meant. "We're all genin now, not selfish little academy students with their own interests," he pointed out. "As genin we're comrades with every shinobi in the village and comrades take care of each other."

"C'mon, Naruto," Ino urged. "Please give me a chance to make up for my stupidity."

Naruto studied all of them before deciding they're being truthful.

"Okay," she agreed a soft smile, allowing Choji to help her to her feet as she joined them for what turned out to be the first great afternoon she had in a long time.

* * *

Sarutobi wearily sighed at the knock on his office door. He sincerely hoped it was not one of his old teammates or it was going to get very ugly between them.

"Enter."

He was pleasantly surprised when Iruka poked his head in to ask, "Is now a bad time to visit? Or should I come back later, Hokage-sama?"

"Not at all, Iruka. Come on in," Sarutobi beckoned before reaching for his pipe and lighting it up.

"Sorry for bothering you, but I wanted to touch base regarding Naruto," the younger man explained while walking over to take a seat in front of the desk.

"You're giving me a needed break," Sarutobi grinned. "Besides, it's been awhile since we've discussed Naruto. She's been doing much better and seems to be recovering from Mizuki's treachery, hasn't she?"

"I don't know if she'll ever fully recover from that, but she'll grow stronger from it," Iruka softly admitted.

Sarutobi's eyes grew distant with memory as he replied, "It's difficult to accept the betrayal of someone you trust wholeheartedly. Time allows us to eventually accept it, but we can never fully understand it." He focused back on Iruka to shrewdly remark, "At least Mizuki's betrayal is a shared experience you can honestly say you understand exactly what Naruto is going through."

Iruka blinked in surprise as if smacked before recovering. "True, but I really wish I didn't have to share this experience with her," he solemnly said. "I'd give anything to go back and spare her all of it. But since I can't do that then I'll just have to do what I can to help her through it while trying to figure out why in the hell Mizuki would betray the village and do that to her."

"Greed seemed to be Mizuki's driving force," Sarutobi mused around his pipe. "He apparently he wasn't satisfied with his life and career. Instead of striving to achieve his own level success and greatness, he decided to make a small fortune quickly and rebuild his life elsewhere."

Pipe smoke drifted lazily in the air while the older man watched Iruka struggle to control his fiery temper.

"Do not torture yourself or waste your anger on Mizuki, Iruka," Sarutobi soothed. "I know you were a good friend to him, but even the best friendships can't win out against intense greed. Take some comfort in knowing he did not get away with what he's done."

Iruka took a deep breath before he calmly asked, "Was T&I able to find out why he chose to trick Naruto? That still doesn't make sense to me because I failed Naruto for a damn good reason, yet he had her break into a highly secure section of the tower to steal the Forbidden scroll of all things. He knew chances were good she'd fail and reveal he set her up to do it."

"I agree," Sarutobi nodded. "The risks were too high and Naruto never demonstrated a sufficient enough skill set to lead anyone to believe her capable of accomplishing such a feat. Mizuki's only explanation was he thought everyone would believe Naruto solely responsible for stealing the scroll and would focus on looking for her within Konoha."

Iruka angrily shook his head. "He's an idiot. I can't believe we didn't catch on to how stupid he really was."

Sarutobi chuckled. "Well, if it's any consolation he's paying dearly before being turned over to the prison." At Iruka's confused expression he continued, "T&I hasn't turned him over yet. They've got everything they're going to get out of him, but because of what he did to Naruto and his later revelations he sold other orphans before on the black market, Ibiki particularly enjoyed breaking Mizuki." The older man leaned back in chair with a grin, "It's not common knowledge, but Ibiki hates child molesters and kidnappers as much as he hates traitors."

The aged Hokage trailed off, allowing the implications to sink in and light up Iruka's face.

"And Mizuki fits all three categories," he murmured before breaking into a wicked grin.

"Feel better, Iruka?" Sarutobi chuckled.

"Yes, I do," Iruka nodded before rising to his feet to bow. "I have to go meet Naruto, but now I feel better about everything. Thank you, Hokage-sama."

The aged man watched the young chuunin leave in amusement before sighing heavily and refocusing on his work.

* * *

**Sixty meters**-about 65 yards

**Ryo**-formerly used form of Japanese money.

**Fifteen meters**-about 16 yards

_**A/N**__: Another completed one-shot down._

_As I've stated before, these one-shots accompany Underneath the Leaves, but I don't include them in the main body of that story because I feel they'll slow down the story. However, they stand quite well on their own and I feel they're still indirectly important to UTL._

_Since these one shots occur in Naruto's past I write them in the past tense. I write UTL in the present to try to give a sense of the story happening "now". I know it confuses and irritates some readers, but this is how I've chosen to work. Trust me, it's not easy switching back and forth and I have to work extra hard not to try not to mix my tenses._

_As always, please feel free to leave a review and thank you again for taking the time to read._


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